Got a speeding ticket Sat night. Arggg!

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by Sirlot, Sep 15, 2008.

  1. Sirlot

    Sirlot New Member

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    I'm still stewing over this. Have to vent about it. I live in Atlanta. For you that are not familiar with our interstate system - It's 55MPH on I-75 and I-285 metro. I was on top end of I-285. Anyone from Atlanta can atest - you will get flat out run over if you do 55 MPH on this interstate in a car, much less a bike.

    Anyways, coming back home Saturday night after watching soom football at a friends house. It's late and I'm about two exits away from home. I'm two lanes over from being in the fast lane. Out of know where blue lights flash behind me. I glance down at my speedo and notice I'm doing 70-73. At that speed I'm keeping pace with every one else on interstate. I figure he isn't pulling me over so I hold ground for a couple secs. Well, okay, maybe he is pulling me over. I start to work my way over and he follows. Can't see anything - his brights are on.

    I pull over off as far as possible on shoulder. Take off my gloves and helmet and wait for the officer. Brights still on - blinding me. He walks up, young guy and ask me the speed limit. It's 55mph I say. Says he clocked me doing 79 :frown:.

    I explain it must have been when I was bottled up and boxed in. I didn't feel comfortable with cars merging on interstate along with riding in some blind spots. So I sped up to slighty get out ahead. The officer quickly tells me thats no excuse for speeding. "Man - I'm on a motorcycle and just trying to keep pace. I've been on this for an hour obeying the law and haven't had any problems. Just trying to ride safe" He proceeds to ask me for my license. I'm fuming at this point. Still am today! Gave me a ticket for 79 in 55 zone. Said he shot me at 668 ft with laser. That's wrote on ticket.

    Granted I was speeding - but come'on. I'm a very responsible rider. I even learned in MSF about keeping pace and that comes with common sense. I was in full gear and feel had a reasonable excuse. I felt like I was in a jam and wanted to seperate myself from potential danger. I didn't break any speed records while doing it. Ahh - needed to vent. Thinking about seeing if I can get the ticket reduced.
     
  2. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    Yeah I know it freaking sucks I got a ticket a while ago just going with the flow of the traffic. I got that one plea bargained so I got no points and a small fine and all I did was show up for court and the prosecutor just offered me a plea bargain and I took it.

    For some help in beating the ticket check out www.thegeorgiaspeedingticketkiller.com You can buy a CD from them that shows you how to beat speeding tickets. They even have a whole section on laser.
     
  3. Scubalong

    Scubalong Official Greeter?

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    I am not sure about Atlanta, In California you can sign up for traffic school, Paid the fine and there is no point to your DMV record. You can only take traffic school for every 18 months. You might want to check in Atlanta to see if they have similar system. I got the same thing last year on my birthday :(
     
  4. FrankoQ

    FrankoQ New Member

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    paying those tickets Suck!
    Pay it/go to driving school (if an option) and forget about.
    The longer you drag this, the longer you will be upset.
     
  5. hondawolf

    hondawolf New Member

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    I had a simular situation. Got pulled over for going with the flow. 75, in a 65. Went to court to fight it, the judge didn't budge and said they were cracking down on motorcyclist. Ended up paying the $300 and now have to do traffic school to clear the point. Sucks, but life goes on.
     
  6. vfr2k2

    vfr2k2 New Member

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    Speeding

    In some ways I feel for you....but 79 in a 55. And at some point you were going faster than the flow. That's were he probably got you. If your are reporting going only about 70 MPH and have the same overstated speed on your speedo that most of us report you were not going all that fast. But you are gong to pay for higher speeds and passing. It's usually the guy that stands out for some reason that gets nipped.
    In Ontario, Canada with the new movement to reduce speeding, had you been going 7 MPH faster (one little blip of the throttle) you would stand to have your ride confiscated and impounded and your license suspended on the spot.
     
  7. Lgn001

    Lgn001 Member

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    I have had a few chickensh*t tickets for speeding. But then again, when I think of the tickets that I COULD have received on occasion, I consider myself lucky. Not that it makes it any easier, as there are times that motorcyclists are singled out.

    I got pulled over once in Oregon for "reckless driving". I had the audacity to swerve into the left lane to avoid hitting a car that was merging onto the freeway and drastically slowed at the last minute. As far as I could tell, the young Trooper who pulled me over must have lost his girlfriend to someone with a motorcycle, or he was just having a bad day. Either way, he was in a terrifically bad mood.
     
  8. Sirlot

    Sirlot New Member

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    I fully admit that sounds bad. But this is nothing but a 5 lane speed trap. IMO anyways. It's a major interstate. If he got me going 79 then it was when I was getting out of congested traffic. Outside of that, I slowed back down to 70. Heck, I also hit the throttle when passing a car or semi. Don't like lingering in the blind spot. Like you said one flick of the wrist and wham. Just wish I had a cop that understood. I do take personal accountability. Still sucks!
     
  9. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    Remind me to never move to canada... the cheap prescription drugs ain't worth it. One thing to take into context is the Atlanta highway traffic. If the police were strict about enforcing the 55 mph speed limit they'd have to hire over 100 more officers just to ticket everyone speeding. They might as well ticket people for breathing.

    I used to live in Marietta which is just north of Atlanta and I had to commute to work on 285 and 75. I always went at least 80 mph and I've gone by motorcycle cops but they never bothered me since pretty much everyone else is going that fast either. When I first moved to Marietta coming from a small town I followed the speed limit of 55 mph but after some scary close calls from tailgaters I had no choice but to go with the flow for my own safety as well as others.

    In retrospect I could sort of understand the attitude from the police officer because if you literally said, "Man, I had to speed to get away from the blind spots." That can be taken kind of offensively. IMO I think it would have been better to at least say, "I'm sorry, Officer but I was concerned for my safety because I was in some driver's blind spots and since I am in a motorcycle I do not have the extra safety of steel around me."

    On the other hand Sirlot mentioned that it's a young officer it possibly could be a naive guy out to change the world or he has some issues with motorcycles. Who knows?
     
  10. VsVFR

    VsVFR New Member

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    I'm not from Atl, but I have ridden and driven the roads you speak of several times, and all I can say is I feel for you. That is one place not to be doddling along in traffic and I'd have done the exact same thing you did in a heartbeat! They fly through there regardless of the speed limit. Sorry for the bad luck. Karma will make it up to you.

    Vs
     
  11. kd4ysi

    kd4ysi New Member

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    sirlot i feel ure pain on the roades through atl i used to go through there a lott on one of my past bikes several yeaRs ago ure right if u do the posted limit ull get ran over
     
  12. NeverlosT

    NeverlosT New Member

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    chalk it up to "the speeding tax". It is such a drag. I got nabbed for "looking like I was going fast" a few months back. I was trying on my racing leathers and apparently looked to be exceeding the speed limit.

    I have to say, I respect the hell out of the difficult job cops have to do, but if they would exercise a little more common sense and free thought on traffic stops, they would have a lot more fans out there. You know the ONLY time that I ever actually slowed down and STAYED riding slowly for a police officer? It was when one drove up beside me, mouthed the words "SLOW DOWN" with a hand moving up and down to signal it, and I gave him the thumbs up and slowed right down.
    To this day, that is the only traffic cop I have really listened to. Just making me pay 200 bucks teaches me nothing, and I dont get yanked enough to have the points matter.

    A little leeway and human discussion and understanding and I think we would all be happier. Nail the drunks, the coke heads, the reckless speeders. Leave john q. saferider the hell alone.

    and for those of you who want to call me a squid or make fun of my attitude, save it, I ride very safely and responsibly, I am just in a grumpy mood and feel like venting.
     
  13. Lgn001

    Lgn001 Member

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    You're a squid, and you have a bad attitude. Oh, you said "save it"...

    Sorry 'bout that! :smile: :smile:
     
  14. Gatekeeper

    Gatekeeper New Member

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    You could live here where the pukes just put up speed cameras and photo radar vans along the sides of the roads. (in bushes, behind signs etc right where the speed limit is artificially reduced.) They can generate hundreds of revenue tickets in the time 1 officer can stop and write a real ticket.
     
  15. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    :kiss:........
     
  16. Molsan

    Molsan New Member

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    Aye some cops equate all sport bikes with squids and i do feel some go out of there way to target us.

    I still can't get over being tailed by 2 cops for 1 1/2 of ridding as they tail gated us waiting for a reason to ticket us.

    Was so close to slamming on the breaks and forcing them to rear end me.
     
  17. S14Daver

    S14Daver New Member

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    ^haha, im a pro brake checker...in my car anyways lol.

    As for the OP, i am exactly the same way. Being boxed-in in traffic and being next to vehicles with large blindspots sucks, i twist the wrist and get the hell out of there too.
     
  18. Sirlot

    Sirlot New Member

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    Yeah I think everyday what else I could have said to the PO. Maybe I didn't reason enough, maybe I should have explained more - but I really don't think it would have mattered in this case. I got on the bike for the first time this morning since the ticket. Just had a sour taste in my mouth all week. Arggh. I swear I'm not a baby. :smile:

    I will say this, for the past week I've been doing about 60-65 in my car on the same interstate observing other drivers more than usual. 90% of the time everyone is doing atleast 70-75. That's in 3/4 of the lanes too - not just the fast lane.
     
  19. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    I hope you didn't pay your ticket. I really, really recommend at least considering going to court. Like I said before, check out the Georgia Speeding TICKET KILLER They have a whole section on dealing with laser. I've personally gotten out of three speeding tickets and what's very effective about them is that it's not :bs: Believe it or not police officers are SUPPOSED to have certain documents ready for trial but they never do. It's because nobody ever asks for it and when you show up asking for the documents you literally catch them with their pants down.

    You can PM me more details if you want. I don't want to turn this thread into another anti-leo thread. In my dealings with the police I respect a majority of them. I even have a cousin who's a deputy sheriff and he's a cool guy. For one thing I would rather have police than NO police at all. Some people truly need to be taken off the road like the drunks, cell phone talkers, teenagers going 100+ mph in residential areas, etc...

    It's just like in every occupation there will be bad apples. If you at least go to court and get your case dismissed it will make that police officer look bad and possibly make him wonder what he did wrong. I wish more people would just stand up to the :bs: that the bad apples get away with. I think that would make for a much better police force that uses common sense instead of blindly following rules and regulations.
     
  20. 15dollar

    15dollar New Member

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    I'll second Joey. Go to court. In Texas, if the officer does not show, the ticket normally gets thrown out. Good luck.
     
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